Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Heartfelt and Important Middle Grade

Frizzy by Claribel A Ortega, Rose Bousamra

by Leave a Comment

Oh my gosh, my heart! I’ve been looking forward to this graphic novel since Claribel A Ortega first announced they were writing this story, and I’m so glad I was able to receive an early copy. Marlene hates going to the salon and straightening her hair every Sunday, but has been taught it’s necessary for her to be presentable and accepted, both by her peers and her family. Seeing her Tía Ruby with her natural curls at her cousin’s quiñce and seeing her favorite character […]

September 2022 Leftovers

Batman '89 by Sam Hamm

The Boys' Club by Erica Katz

The Banker's Wife by Christina Alger

by Leave a Comment

Not nearly as many leftovers as in the last few months, mostly because of the Ted Williams biography, also because of other stuff going on. Plus, I’m writing longer posts for books I would have otherwise dispensed with sooner because of CBR 14 Bingo. Batman ’89*** Been waiting for this for so long, especially after the love Batman 66got, but the results were mixed. Loved what they did with Robin. Didn’t like what they did with Harvey Dent/Two-Face. It felt like Christopher Nolan and not […]

Meddling With Time Never Seems to End Well

Chronin Volume 1: The Knife at Your Back by Alison Wilgus

by Leave a Comment

Bingo 19: Font The font used in Chronin volume 1 is one of the ones that basically looks like a relatively clear print handwriting. It’s too consistent to have ben actually by hand though. Set a few decades in the future, time travel is now a known technology and certain history buff undergraduate students are being allowed strictly regulated time to go study their favorite time periods in situ/tempore. One such student is Mirai who has traveled to 1860s Japan just before a revolution was […]

One Bad Day

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

by Leave a Comment

Cbr14bingo Scandal/bingo  Published in 1988 generated controversy for its violence, treatment of Barbara Gordon, Moore’s later criticism of his own. See this story in the Guardian. Batman: The Killing Joke, published in 1988, has had enormous influence on Batman movies and seems to be the generally accepted version of the Joker’s origin story. While I haven’t seen all of the Batman movies, as I read this graphic novel, I recognized that Hollywood has largely adopted Alan Moore’s story as canon. Moore himself in subsequent years […]

Never Trust the Fae

Stars, Hide Your Fire by Kel McDonald, Jose Pimienta

by Leave a Comment

Somewhere in Massachusetts, two best friends, Darra and Andrea, struggle with the reality of growing up and growing apart. As they start high school and consider their futures, one wants to stay put while the other can’t wait to get away, which inevitably strains their friendship. When they break into an abandoned, supposedly haunted factory and the ghostly woman trapped there offers one of them eternal youth, they accidentally unleash something sinister on their unsuspecting small town. I really liked this one, which is unsurprising […]

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year One

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year One by Tom Taylor

by Leave a Comment

My experience has been that most comic based on video games are…less than stellar. And when I have not even played the game on which it is based, I am even more reluctant to read the book. However, my son’s oldest friend has been asking me to read this for several years and so I started it this month. I am so glad I listened to him as this was a fun and interesting read. The main concept is that Superman “Breaks bad” and Batman […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo